Hard drives on backorder for two years as AI data centers trigger HDD shortage

And when the AI bubble bursts, "refurbished" HDDs and GPUs will flood the market. Save your money now and be prepared.

My understanding is that refurbished GPUs from e.g. crypto mining are something people are warned away from, because they've often been run into the ground. Are AI usage practices different?

> My understanding is that refurbished GPUs from e.g. crypto mining are something people are warned away from, because they've often been run into the ground.

No, this wasn't the case. While there were never comprehensive studies various tech media purchased these cards to run testing and found that, other than scammers, they all performed to expectation.

You can buy used car tires with 1% of thread left and they'll perform amazingly during your one time test too

Car tire is a moving part that wears in use. Only moving parts a GPU has are its fans, which can be replaced. The rest may last really long, or fail brand new.